Durham’s Late Outburst Leads to 10-3 Rout of Stripers

DURHAM, NC – The Gwinnett Stripers (27-31) trailed 2-1 through four innings in a tight game, but the Durham Bulls (27-31) erupted for eight runs over the next three innings for a 10-3 win in the series opener on Tuesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Eli White, Ramon Laureano, and Andrew Velazquez all hit solo home runs for the Stripers.

Decisive Plays: White’s fourth-inning solo shot (3) to left cut Gwinnett’s deficit to 2-1, but that would be as close as the game got. Durham took a 4-1 lead on Curtis Mead’s two-run homer to right-center off Grant Holmes (L, 3-2) in the fifth. Solo homers by Tristan Peters and Heriberto Hernandez off Taylor Widener extended the advantage to 6-2, and a two-run double by Ruben Cardenas and two-run triple by Peters made it 10-2 in the seventh. Laureano’s 463-foot tape-measure shot (1) to left-center in the sixth and Velazquez’s solo clout (8) to left in the eighth were the Stripers’ last two runs.

Key Contributors: Laureano (2-for-5, homer, RBI), Velazquez (2-for-4, homer, RBI), and Chadwick Tromp (2-for-4, double) all had multi-hit games for Gwinnett. Peters led the way for Durham, going 2-for-4 with a triple, homer, and game-high three RBIs. Joe Rock (W, 4-2) held Gwinnett to two runs over 6.0 innings and struck out nine.

Noteworthy: Laureano’s 463-foot homer was the second-longest for Gwinnett in the statcast era, trailing only Tromp’s 476-foot homer on May 24, 2023 vs. Durham at Coolray Field. The Stripers, still last in the International League in total homers with 42, have hit 10 in the last five games.

Next Game (Wednesday, June 5): Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35 p.m. ET at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP Allan Winans (3-3, 4.43 ERA) will start for the Stripers opposite RHP Nathan Wiles (4-2, 6.41 ERA) for the Bulls.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, June 11): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It will be another Coolray T-Shirt Tuesday at Coolray Field, as the first 500 fans can collect a "Xolos de Gwinnett" Shirsey featuring reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.